The Lumiere Brothers’s Cinematographe

Lumiere Brothers

In March of 1895, French brothers Louis and Auguste Lumiere created a device that would change the world of documentary forever. This device was inspired by William Dickson and Thomas Edison’s motion-picture projector called the Kinetoscope that was invented in 1992. After the exhibition of the Kinetoscope the Lumiere brothers began trying to figure out how to combine film recording and projection into a single device. In 1895 they invented a solution.

The device was called the cinematographe. The cinematographe was much smaller and lighter than the Kinetoscope. The cinematographe weighed around eleven pounds and operated with the use of a hand-powered crank. The cinematographe made it possible to photograph and project films. Although the cinematographe only projected films at a speed of sixteen frames per second, which was much slower than the kinetoscope that had a speed of forty eight frames per second, it made it less noisy to operate and it used less film.

The cinematographe very important in the world of documentary film because like the kinetoscope, it inspired others to invent more lighter, smaller, durable, and more efficient devices in documentary film. In 1912 Bell and Howell introduced a all metal movie camera. In 1934 Bell and Howell also invented the first ever lightweight movie camera for amateur filmmakers. On April 23, 1896, at a music hall in New York City, the Edison used the vitascope and brought projection to the United States. The vitascope was patented by Thomas Armat in 1895. Edison used the vitascope to project his kinetoscope films. The cinematographe made it easier for filmmakers to make documentary films.

This type of device was important because it enabled filmmakers to record and project their documentary films a affordable and easier way ( easier as in the camera isn’t as heavy and big). One good example is Nanook of The North. Filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty was able to film Nanook and his family enough to make a documentary, come back, accidentally destroyed the film, and went back to record the documentary again. I’m pretty sure that if the camera was the kinetoscope Robert J. Flaherty wouldn’t have gone back to make a 2nd documentary.

I believe that if there wasn’t this kind of technology we wouldn’t be able to get all the different shot types and angle shots that we have today. Because of this technology we are able to get shots from angles we couldn’t get before. One example is the bird’s eye view. It’s only possible because we kept improving cameras to make them smaller and lighter. We’ve been able to put cameras in toy drones that lets us get camera angles from every direction. I also think that if we didn’t have this kind of device we wouldn’t be able to travel and film around the world.

If the Lumiere brothers didn’t invent the cinematographe documentary films would probably not be where it is today. It would take a couple more years before the cinematographe was invented. Or it could take longer, who knows how long it would’ve taken before the cinematographe was invented if it wasn’t invented in 1895. Because of the cinematographe Bell and Howell was able to invent the small lightweight camera for amateur filmmakers. Technology is constantly advancing, we’re all just waiting for the next Lumiere brothers.

Sources:

Green, Amanda, and Eric Vespe. “A Brief History of the Movie Camera.” Popular Mechanics. N.p., 10 June 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

“Our History.” Bell and Howell. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

Pruitt, Sarah. “The Lumière Brothers, Pioneers of Cinema.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 03 Oct. 2014. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Vitascope.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 04 Apr. 2011. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.